Kay Taylor

A charity champion is gearing up for a whole host of various challenges throughout 2016 in aid of St Catherine’s Hospice.

Alex Hilton-Slee, from Fulwood, is not only taking on a 100-mile cycle ride and 10k run to test his limits, he’s also organising an auction and taking part in a boxing event.

“I’ve got everything I need personally and financially, so I thought it was time to give something back.”

Alex Hilton-Slee

The 24-year-old, who works at Sports Direct in Wigan, said: “Doing this amount of fund-raising is something I’ve been thinking about for a few years now.

“I’ve got everything I need personally and financially, so I thought it was time to give something back.

“I want to challenge myself and test my limits, but for a good cause. It’s good motivation to do it all for St Catherine’s because people are relying on me.”

He added: “When I found out it costs £5m to run the hospice every year, I just wanted to do something to help. If I can raise £5,000, that will be great.

“I chose St Catherine’s because it’s always been close to my heart because a few family friends have been cared for there.

“Also, because it’s a local charity, you can really see the difference it makes, and the staff there have been so supportive and encouraging of my plans.”

Alex recently founded ‘Hiltonslee Fundraising’ to support the Lostock Hall hospice, and he already has a number of challenges to work towards this year.

He’s taking part in an Ultra White Collar Boxing event at Evoque night club in Preston on April 24; the recently-announced Wiggle 4 Counties cycle ride on May 15, for which St Catherine’s is the official charity partner; and the Great Manchester Run on May 22.

“I am also holding a charity cocktail and auction evening at Glovers Bar in Preston on June 3,” he added. “I have managed to secure Citybeat presenter Julie Birkett as my evening host, so I am hoping that this will really raise the profile of the whole event.

“All prizes for the event have been donated by local businesses, but we do currently need a few more, so all donations are welcome.

“The night will start at 8pm and there will be raffles, quizzes and an auction.

“Staff at Glovers Bar have also agreed to create a special cocktail for the evening, from which all proceeds will be donated to the hospice.”

Emma Jacovelli, fund-raiser at St Catherine’s, said: “Wow – we’re exhausted just thinking about all the exciting things Alex is up to this year in aid of the hospice, covering everything from an epic cycling challenge to a cocktail night featuring a unique St Catherine’s tipple!

“It costs around £5m to run St Catherine’s each year and we have to raise £3.7m of this through charitable efforts – this is only possible thanks to the incredible support of people like Alex who are willing to go the extra mile in aid of their local charity.

“We are extremely grateful to him for choosing to support St Catherine’s in all these different ways and will be with him every step of the way helping in any way we can.”

She added: “If you’d like to join Alex in setting yourself a personal challenge or organising an event for St Catherine’s in 2016, we’d love to hear from you!

“We’re here to help make it a fun and rewarding experience, which we guarantee will make a real difference to the lives of local people living with conditions like cancer, motor neurone disease and heart failure.”